Assistant Village Manager Ashley Monroe has resigned from her post at Riverside to become the new deputy director of the Forest Preserves of Kane County. Her last day with the village is Thursday, Aug. 28, and her first day in her new position will be Tuesday, Sept. 2.
After Monroe’s departure, Riverside will not hire a new assistant village manager, Village Manager Jessica Frances said; instead, it will promote a new community development director who will assume most of the tasks from the sunsetting position.
“We’re very sad to see her go, but we are excited for her and her next adventure,” Frances told the Landmark.
Monroe is the second village official to leave Riverside this year after Village Clerk Ethan Sowl resigned in February to become the assistant village manager and zoning and planning administrator for Elm Grove, a village in Wisconsin.
Monroe said she submitted her resignation on Aug. 12. Frances announced her departure on Aug. 21 at the village board’s meeting.
“I had general interest in working with a special district at some point in my career. The Forest Preserves and the mission and values of conservation, preservation, general wellness and activity really struck a chord with me,” Monroe told the Landmark. “I ended up seeing that the county had posted for this brand-new position … Because that type of role comes around so infrequently, I took a look at it and wanted to explore what that could look like for me. There are elements of what I’ve learned here in Riverside that are directly applicable.”
Monroe said a number of parallels between Riverside and her new workplace also caught her eye.
“The Forest Preserves does have properties that it manages that are historic in nature, so historic landmarks, which, of course, is a critical component of what Riverside is and the history that comes with that. Kane County just celebrated its 100th anniversary of incorporation,” in comparison with Riverside celebrating its 150th earlier this month, she said. “That historical importance is really neat to me. There are only 11 forest preserve districts in the state of Illinois, so that unique character of being one of few is also familiar to Riverside.”
Monroe said her new role will be largely administrative, with her working to support the operations of the forest preserves’ different departments, including elements of natural resource management, planning, land acquisition and community engagement.
She struggled to name a single favorite memory of her four years with Riverside before settling on a potluck lunch her coworkers at the village threw for her on Monday, Aug. 25, to celebrate her before her departure.
“Riverside has been nothing but welcoming to me for the period of time that I was here. Our residents in Riverside and this general region are genuine in their community care and their sense of community and the ways that they contribute,” she said. “I have not been in a place that is so focused on the respectful preservation of this historical ideal. There’s something really great about recognition by many, many residents in the community, not just a few, of the significance that Riverside has to the national forefront of planning, design and historical character.”
She also lauded the village board and the thoughtfulness of its members, having worked for Riverside under two village presidents and a handful of different trustees.
“The reason I wanted to come to Riverside was because of the stability and professionalism of the board of trustees. Their thoughtful deliberation about issues here and the overall support and trust in staff in executing those ideals, I think, were really characteristics of what I hoped I would see in Riverside,” she said. “That’s what you want to see in a desirable community to both live and work for.”
